USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 3 > Part 25
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264
THE MASSACHUSETTS LOYALISTS
lawns and fields of the fugitives were growing up to tall grass. What was to be done with the produce? The Com- mittee of Safety put the question up to the Provincial Con- gress, and on June 21, 1775 the Congress announced its policy : every town was to be the guardian of the abandoned estates within its limits. The selectmen and the local com- mittee of correspondence were to take the property into their care, "make the best improvement thereof in their power", "keep an account of all the rents and profits aris- ing from the same", and be accountable for them to the Provincial Congress.
In accordance with this resolve the local authorities cut the grass, made and stored hay, sold off the cattle, and when possible leased the estates to desirable tenants. Under this modus vivendi the revolutionary government coped with the problem until the evacuation of Boston in March 1776 complicated the situation somewhat further by involv- ing the disposal of dozens of estates in the metropolis. The "absconders", as the House of Representatives termed them, had fled so precipitately that they had abandoned not only their real estate, but also in some cases, "their personal and other removeable effects to a very considerable value." As there were plenty of persons ready to appropriate these "under pretence of gift, sale, or attachment", the Congress lost no time in appointing a committee to administer the estates.
By this time the procedure was fairly systematic: first, an inventory of the property was taken; then the estate was leased or otherwise administered for the good of the revolutionary cause. It should be added that in the case of a Tory who had left his family behind, the committee was to provide from the estate an allowance for the sup- port of his wife and children,-"they being unable other- ways to support themselves."
CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY (1776 - 1779)
As the war dragged on a demand developed for the liquidation of the property which had come into the posses- sion of the revolutionary government. In May 1776 the House passed a resolution authorizing the public sale of
Is the House of Representatives, April 19, 1776.
W THERE AS fandry, Perfons of this Colony have joined out um natural Enemies, who have in & hoftile Manner been endeavour- ing to enflive the United Colonies ; and others have abfcended and removed out of this Colony, with Intent to aid the defporic Meafires of our Enemies, and divers of both Sorts have left Effaces both Real and Perfonali much of which have been already wafted, and more is Tiable to Waffe :. Therefore,
RESOLVED, Thu the Con nitee of Correspondence. Safety and Infpuchoa, in each and every Towa and Plantation in this Colony, where there is any Real.or Pertoaal Efate in their refpective Towns, belonging to any Perfon or Perfons, char in their Opinion have tied to Baffes in the Tato Time of Diftreft to fecurp tireifelves, or that have joined the un- batural Enemies of theUnited Colonies, or that have withdrawn themfelves out of the Colony to"aid the defpotic Meafures af our Enemies thic they immediately take Poff flion of all fach Eftates ; and according to their b it Difcret on and Judgment for the Ufe of this Colony, order and Jeste our fuchReal Eftares, to fuch Perfon or Perfons, and for fuchSum and Sum of Money, as they Thall think proper, for the Space of one Year ; an.l'twit they return to this Court a true Inventory of fuch Perional Filate, as they fhall receive into their Peff ffion, belonging to each fach Perlon : And allo an Account to whom They thall let the faid Iftate, and the Amount of the Rent they Mhall agree to be paid for the fame ; any former Orderor Refoive of the Congrels of this Colony, or of the Gene- ralCour tot econtrary notwirblanding. Provided always, That nothing in the foregoing Refove fhall be continued to extend to fach Eftates as storefaid, whether Real or Perfokal, as are now held and poffetfed by Perions friendly to this Colony, by Virtue of any written Conveyance bearing Date and actually executed on or before the twenty-f.cond Day ot May 1775.
And whereas jundry Perfons in this Colony, did not actually join our une natural Enemies, nor remove out of this Colony' but have discovered a trong Avachment to them and been aiding and affling them in their wicked Defight all in their Power, and have approved of their Meafures :
It is therefore further Refolved That the Committee aforefald be di- relted to make Return to this Court at or before the fecond Tuefday of their next Soffion of the Names of all Perfons who have in any Manner acted againft or oppofed the Rights and Liberties of this Country. or who have ligned or vored any Addrefi to General Gage approving h & Errand to this Co ony. or his Administration fince the Diffilution of the General Court a Saiem, in 1774 ortoGovernor Hatchinfon after the Arrival of Gence ral Gage orto Genera How for who have figned and promotedany iffici- anon for joining or affilting the Enemies of this Continear ; and of fuch as have fl d from this ; olony. to or with the Britif Army, Fieet, or elfe- a hej e together with their respective trimes, and Evidences or Depofitions, which may be procured to prove the fame, unlefs fach Perfon or Perfo .. s Chall have given ample Satisfaction to the Pub icof their fingere Contrition, thorough Reforma ton, and fitm Attachment to the Rights and Inereft of this and the other United Colones of America. And it is recommended to the Juftices of the Peace in the feveral dunries, to aid and affitt fuch Committee in taking fach Depofitions as may be procured in the Pre. biffes: Sent up for Concurren e. 7. WARREN, Speaker. to Council .April es. 1976. Read and concurr'd.
PEREZ MORTON, Dep. Sec'y.
Confented to,
GAMES OTIS FOHN WHETCOMB.
JEDEDIAH FOSTER,
WILLIAM SEVER, BENYAMIN GREENLEAF, WALTER SPOONER, CALEB CUSHING
JAMES PRESCOTT, ELDAD TAYLOR,
SAMUEL HOLTEN.
JOHN WINTHROP. BENJAMINCHADBOURN,
BEN7.4MIN WHITE, MOSES GILL.
THOMAS CUSHING,
A tive Copy, Atteft.
PEREZ MORTON, Dep. Sec'ry.
From an original
Courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society
RESOLVES REGARDING LOYALISTS
*
265
CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY
"perishable articles and such only." The Council seems to have considered this a bit radical. Just where would the line be drawn between perishable property and imperishable property"? The measure was lost in the Council. In the spring of 1777 both branches agreed that the time had arrived when "all chaises and other carriages" belonging to the estates of Boston loyalists should be sold. If they could not be sold at their appraisal price, they should be sold at public vendue. This was the beginning of the end. A few weeks later all "the household furniture and other personal estate" of departed Boston loyalists went the way of their "chaises and other carriages".
The autumn of 1777 brought the surrender of Burgoyne. The spring of 1778 brought news of the treaty of alliance between France and the United States. By May 1, 1779 it was reasonably certain that the Americans would ulti- mately achieve their independence of Great Britain. It was absolutely certain that the infant state of Massachusetts needed every penny it could raise for the continuance of the war. Under these circumstances the State took her final step in regard to "the estates of certain persons commonly called absentees."
The preamble to the act of confiscation is interesting and it suggests that those who passed it felt the need of justify- ing the deed. To the lay mind their argument appears more ingenious than convincing. Briefly it was this. Every government has a right to command the personal services of all its members whenever the exigencies of the state require it. If a member evades this duty by withdrawing himself from the jurisdiction of the government at a critical moment, he justly incurs the forfeiture of all his property, rights, and liberties. In the years 1774-75 the government of Massachusetts Bay was set upon by the king of Great Britain and Parliament and it needed the assistance of every citizen. At that time certain individuals chose to withdraw from Massachusetts and to place themselves within the British lines. By doing so they incurred the penalty of losing all their property, rights and liberties in Massachu- setts.
266 THE MASSACHUSETTS LOYALISTS
The act itself, passed May 1, 1779, confiscated the estates of such persons. Henceforth their property in Massachusetts was to "escheat, enure, and accure to the sole use and benefit of the government and people of this state." Probably it was the only practical thing to do with the loyalist estates; but if one stops to recall the violence that led many a Tory to "withdraw himself from the jurisdic- tion of the government, and thereby deprive it of the bene- fit of his personal services," he will probably wish that his ancestors had omitted the preamble to the confiscation act. In 1779 it may have sounded like good political theory, but to the cool ear of the twentieth century it sounds like political casuistry.
EXILED FOREVER (1778)
In tracing the fate of the estates, we have for the moment lost sight of the persons of the loyalists. What actually happened to those who declined to take "the Test" of 1776? And what became of those extreme Tories who were not even allowed to take the test? Apparently the former were disarmed and disfranchised; and if they gave aid and comfort to the enemy they suffered the penalty for treason. We assume, however, that the great majority of them merely sat tight and awaited the outcome of the war. That was the wisest course to pursue.
What of the Tories of another stripe,-Tories who, when the time came for choosing sides, had aligned delib- erately and definitely with the British government and left the country? These men could never become whole-hearted Americans, and the revolutionists determined that they should never have the opportunity to attempt it. October 16, 1778 the General Court passed an act naming the most notorious of them and providing for their arrest and trans- portation if they should ever set foot on Massachusetts soil For a second offence death was to be the penalty.
The black list is long, but as it affected loyalists from all parts of Massachusetts and throws light upon their var- ious walks in life, it is reproduced here in full.
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267
THE BLACK LIST
THE BLACK LIST (1778)
"Thomas Hutchinson, Esq., late governor of the state, Francis Bernard, Esq., formerly governor of this state, Thomas Oliver, Esq., late lieutenant-governor of this state, Timothy Ruggles of Hardwick, in the county of Worces- ter, Esq., William Apthorp, merchant, Gibbs Atkins, cabinet- maker, John Atkinson, John Amory, James Anderson, Thomas Apthorp, David Black, William Burton, William Bowes, George Brindley, Robert Blair, Thomas Brindley, James Barrick, merchants, Thomas Brattle, Esq., Sampson Salter Blowers, Esq., James Bruce, Ebenezer Bridgham, Alexander Brymer, Edward Berry, merchants, William Burch, late commissioner of the customs, Esq., Mather Byles, jun., clerk, William Codner, book-keeper, Edward Cox, merchant, Andrew Cazneau, Esq., barrister-at-law, Henry Canner, clerk, Thomas Courtney, taylor, Richard Clark, Esq., Isaac Clark, physician, Benjamin Church, phy- sician, John Coffin, distiller, John Clark, physician, William Coffin, Esq., Nathaniel Coffin, Esq., Jonathan Clark, merchant, Archibald Cunningham, shopkeeper, Gilbert Deblois, merchant, Lewis Deblois, merchant, Philip Dumaresque, merchant, Ben- jamin Davis, merchant, John Erving, jun., Esq., George Erv- ing, Esq., Edward Foster and Edward Foster, jun., black- smiths, Benjamin Faneuil, jun., merchant, Thomas Fluker, Esq., late sec'y for Massachusetts Bay, Samuel Fitch, Esq., Wilfret Fisher, carter, James Forrest, merchant, Lewis Gray, merchant, Francis Green, merchant, Joseph Green, Esq., Sil- vester Gardner, Esq., Harrison Gray, jun., clerk to the treas- urer, Joseph Goldthwait, Esq., Martin Gay, founder, John Gore, Esq., Benjamin Hallowell, Esq., Robert Hallowell, Esq., Thomas Hutchinson, jun., Esq., Benjamin Gridley, Esq., Frederick William Geyer, merchant, John Greenlaw, shopkeeper, David Green, merchant, Elisha Hutchinson, Esq., James Hall, mariner, Foster Hutchinson, Esq., Ben- jamin Mulbury Holmes, distiller, Samuel Hodges, book- keeper, Henry Hulton, Esq., Hawes Hatch, wharfinger, John Joy, housewright, Peter Johonnet, distiller, William Jackson, merchant, John Jeffries, physician, Henry Laugh- ton, merchant, James Henderson, trader, John Hinston,
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THE MASSACHUSETTS LOYALISTS
yeoman, Christopher Hatch, mariner, Robert Jarvis, mar- iner, Richard Lechmere, Esq., Edward Lyde, merchant, Henry Lloyd, Esq., George Leonard, miller, Henry L[i]d- dle, book-keeper, Archibald McNeal, baker, Christopher Mino [t], tide-waiter, James Murray, Esq., William Mc- Alpin, book-binder, Thomas Mitchell, mariner, William Martin, Esq., John Knutton, tallow-chandler, Thomas Knight, shopkeeper, Samuel Prince, merchant, Adino Pad- dock, Esq., Charles Paxton, Esq., Sir William Pepperel, Baronet, John Powell, Esq., William Lee Perkins, physician, Nathaniel Perkins, Esq., Samuel Quincy, Esq., Owen Rich- ards, tide-waiter, Samuel Rogers, merchant, Jonathan Simpson, Esq., George Spooner, merchant, Edward Stowe, mariner, Richard Smith, merchant, Jonathan Snelling, Esq., Daniel Silsby, trader, Samuel Sewall, Esq., Abraham Sav- age, tax-gatherer, Joseph Scott, Esq., Francis Skinner, clerk to the late council, William Simpson, merchant, Richard Sherwin, sadler, Henry Smith, merchant, John Semple, mer- chant, Robert Semple, merchant, Thomas Selkrig, merchant, James Selkrig, merchant, Robert Service, trader, Simon Tufts, trader, Arodi Thayer, late marshal to the admiralty court, Nathaniel Taylor, deputy naval officer, John Trout- beck, clerk, Gregory Townsend, Esq., William Taylor, mer- chant, William Vassal, Esq., Joseph Taylor, merchant, Joshua Upham, Esq., William Walter, clerk, Samuel Water- house, merchant, Isaac Winslow, merchant, John Winslow, jun., merchant, David Willis, trader, Obadiah Whiston, blacksmith, Archibald Wilson, trader, John White, mariner, William Warden, peruke-maker, Nathaniel Mills, John Hicks, John Howe and John Fleming, printers,-all of Bos- ton in the county of Suffolk;
Robert Auchmuty, Esq., Joshua Loring, Esq., both of Roxbury in the same county; Samuel Goldsbury, yeoman, of Wrentham, in the county of Suffolk; Joshua Loring, jun., merchant, Nathaniel Hatch, Esq., both of Dorchester, in the same county;
Wm. Brown, Esq., Benjamin Pickman, Esq., Samuel Porter, Esq., John Sargeant, trader,-all of Salem in the county of Essex; Richard Saltonstall, Esq., of Haverhill in the same county; Thomas Roby, trader, Benjamin Mar-
269
THE BLACK LIST
ston, merchant, both of Marblehead in said county of Es- sex; Moses Badger, clerk, of Haverhill aforesaid ;
Jonathan Sewall, Esq., John Vassal, Esq., David Phips, Esq., John Nutting, carpenter,-all of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex; Henry Barnes of Marlboro, in the said county of Middlesex, merchant, Jeremiah Dummer Rogers of Littleton, in the same county, Esq., Daniel Bliss of Concord, in the said county of Middlesex, Esq., Charles Russell of Lincoln, in the same county, physician; Joseph Adams of Townsend in said county of Middlesex, physi- cian; Thomas Danforth of Charlestown, in said county, Esq; Joshua Smith, trader, of Townsend in said county;
Joseph Ashley, jun., gentleman, of Sunderland; Nathan- iel Dickenson, gentleman, of Deerfield, Samuel Bliss, shop- keeper, of Greenfield, Roger Dickenson, yeoman, Josiah Pomroy, physician, and Thomas Cutler, gentleman, of Hat- field, Jonathan Bliss, Esq., of Springfield, William Galway, yeoman of Conway, Elijah Williams, attorney-at-law, of Deerfield, James Oliver, gentleman, of Conway,-all in the county of Hampshire ;
Pelham Winslow, Esq., Cornelius White, mariner, Ed- ward Winslow, jun., Esq.,-all of Plymouth in the county of Plymouth; Peter Oliver, Esq., Peter Oliver, jun., physi- cian, both of Middleboro in the same county; Josiah Edson, Esq., of Bridgwater, in the said county of Plymouth; Lieut. Daniel Dunbar of Halifax, in the same county; Charles Curtis of Scituate, in said county of Plymouth, gentleman, Nathaniel Ray Thomas, Esq., Israel Tilden, Caleb Carver, Seth Bryant, Benjamin Walker, Gideon Walker, Zera Wal- ker, Adam Hall, tertius, Isaac Joice, Joseph Phillips, Daniel White, jun., Cornelius White, tertius, Melgar Carver, Luke Hall, Thomas Decrow, John Baker, jun.,-all of Marsh- field in the said county of Plymouth ;
Gideon White, jun., Daniel Leonard, Esq., Seth Williams, jun., gentleman, Solomon Smith, boatman,-all of Taunton in the county of Bristol; Thomas Gilbert, Esq., Perez Gil- bert, Ebenezer Hathaway, jun., Lot Strange, the third, Zebedec Terree, Bradford Gilbert,-all of Freetown, in the same county; Joshua Broomer, Shadrach Hathaway, Calvin Hathaway, Luther Hathaway, Henry Tisdel, William Bur-
270
THE MASSACHUSETTS LOYALISTS
den, Levi Chace, Shadrach Chase, Richard Holland, Eben- ezer Phillips, Samuel Gilbert, gentleman, Thomas Gilbert, jun., yeoman, both of Berkley in the said county of Bristol;
Ammi Chase, Caleb Wheaton, Joshua Wilbore, Lemuel Bourn, gentleman, Thomas Perry, yeoman, David Atkins, labourer ; Silas Perry, labourer, Seth Perry, mariner, Elisha Bourn, gentleman, Thomas Bumpus, yeoman, Ephraim El- lis, jun., yeoman, Edward Bourn, gentleman, Nicholas Cobb, labourer, William Bourn, cordwainer,-all of Sandwich, in the county of Barnstable; and Seth Bangs of Harwich, in the county of Barnstable, mariner ;
John Chandler, Esq., James Putnam, Esq., Rufus Chand- ler, gentleman, William Paine, physician, Adam Walker, blacksmith, William Chandler, gentleman,-all of Worcester, in the county of Worcester; John Walker, gentleman, David Bush, yeoman, both of Shrewsbury in the same county; Abijah Willard, Esq., Abel Willard, Esq., Joseph House, yeoman,-all of Lancaster, in the said county of Worcester; Ebenezer Cutler, trader, James Eager, yeoman, both of Northbury, in the same county; Daniel Oliver, Esq., Richard Ruggles, yeoman, Gardner Chandler, trader, Joseph Ruggles, gentleman, Nathaniel Ruggles, yeoman,-all of Hardwick, in the. said county of Worcester; John Ruggles, yeoman, of said Hardwick, John Eager, yeoman, Ebenezer Whipple, Israel Conkay, John Murray, Esq., of Rutland, in said county of Worcester, Daniel Murray, gentleman, Samuel Murray, gentleman, Michael Martin, trader, of Brookfield in the said county of Worcester; Thomas Bea- man, gentleman, of Petersham, in the same county; Nathaniel Chandler, gentleman, John Bowen, gentleman, of Princeton in the said county of Worcester, James Crage, gentleman, of Oakham, in the same county; Thomas Mul- lens, blacksmith, of Leominster, in the said county of Worcester ;
Francis Waldo, Esq., Arthur Savage, Esq., Jeremiah Pote, mariner, Thomas Ross, mariner, James Wildridge, mariner, George Lyde, custom-house officer, Robert Pagan, merchant, Thomas Wyer, mariner, Thomas Coulson, mer- chant, John Wiswall, clerk, Joshua Eldridge, mariner, Thomas Oxnard, merchant, Edward Oxnard, merchant, Wil-
271
LOYALIST LIFE IN ENGLAND
liam Tyng, Esq., John Wright, merchant, Samuel Long- fellow, mariner, all of Falmouth, in the county of Cum- berland ;
Charles Callahan of Pownalboro, in the county of Lincoln, mariner ;
Jonas Jones of East Hoosuck, in the county of Berkshire; David Ingersoll of Great Barrington, in the same county, Esq., Jonathan Prindall, Benjamin Noble, Francis Noble, Elisha Jones of Pittsfield, in the said county of Berkshire, yeoman; John Graves, yeoman, Daniel Brewer, yeoman, both of Pittsfield aforesaid; Richard Square of Lanesbor- ough, in the said county of Berkshire; Ephraim Jones of East Hoosuck in the same county; Lewis Hubbel, and many other persons."
LOYALIST LIFE IN ENGLAND (1776-1783)
So far as the government of Massachusetts was con- cerned the loyalists were gone, were not to come back, and that was all there was to it. But for the exiles there was much more to it than that. They must undergo at least one sea voyage; and there were years of homesickness, financial distress, and dickering with English government officials in regard to pensions and compensations. The wealthier Massachusetts loyalists appear to have gone to England as soon as possible after the flight to Nova Scotia. The less well-to-do stayed in the New World, most of the time within the British lines on Manhattan Island. Which of the groups had the better time of it would be difficult to state; but we shall glance at each group and try to draw our own conclusions.
Samuel Curwen has left us the most convincing account of loyalist life in England during the Revolution. Curwen was a native of Salem, Massachusetts, a graduate of Har- vard College, and a Judge of Admiralty in 1775. Four days after the battle of Lexington, he sailed from Beverly for Philadelphia in the hope of finding "personal security and those rights which by the laws of God I ought to have enjoyed undisturbed" at home. But Philadelphia was hardly any better than Salem, and he soon made up his
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THE MASSACHUSETTS LOYALISTS
mind to proceed to London, where his loyalism might be appreciated.
At first Judge Curwen found London very agreeable as a place of residence. At the New England Coffee-house, in Threadneedle Street he met a friend and fellow-townsman, Benjamin Pickman. At the Old Jewry meeting-house he was greeted and welcomed by Governor Hutchinson, who was accompanied by his son and daughter. In the next pew sat two other American acquaintances. The more he went about, the more Massachusetts men he met. He had not been in England a week when he wrote jubilantly to one of his Salem friends: "There is an army of New Englanders here." Six or seven months later a score of them formed the New England Club which was to dine weekly at the Adelphi.
All this was very pleasant; but early in 1776 Curwen's journal and letters suggest an occasional longing for his native land. In an unusually cold spell he wrote: "The fires here [are] not to be compared to our large American ones of oak and walnut, nor near so comfortable; would that I was away!" There were other drawbacks, too: "London, my favorite place of abode, is, as the peasant said, 'a sad lickpenny', and truly one cannot breathe the vital air without great expense." This aspect of his en- vironment grew upon him. In June 1776 six vessels laden with Massachusetts refugees arrived from Halifax, "amongst whom are R. Lechmere, I. Vassal, Col. Oliver, Treasurer Gray, etc."
THE LOYALIST SETTLEMENT
"Those who bring property here may do well enough," wrote Curwen, not without feeling, "but for those who ex- pect reimbursement for losses, or a supply for present sup- port, will find to their cost the hand of charity very cold; the latter may be kept from starving, and beyond that their hopes are vain." His own funds were getting low. "I find my finances so visibly lessening, that I wish I could remove from this expensive country, (being heartily tired of it,) and old as I am, would gladly enter into business connection anywhere consistently with decency and integrity,
273
RETURN OF A LOYALIST
which I would fain preserve. The use of the property I left behind me I fear I shall never be the better for; little did I expect from affluence to be reduced to such rigid economy as prudence now exacts. To beg is a meanness I wish never to be reduced to, and to starve is stupid; one comfort, as I am fast declining into the vale of life, my miseries cannot probably be of long continuance."
The following extract tells its own story: "Asked a man how far it was to Chelsea, and was answered in the true New-England style, 'I don't know-about half a mile.' This I note as the first instance, to my remembrance, of the like I have met with on this side the water.
"Had a free conversation with a couple of conversible gentlemen, not commonly to be met with; the better sort of gentry being too proud or reserved to mix with those they don't know, or to indulge a promiscuous chat."
Curwen was not the only New Englander who, for one reason or another, grew weary of London. A number of them moved to Bristol and formed an American colony there. "I think", wrote Governor Hutchinson in his diary, "take in all circumstances, and I should prefer living there to any place in England. The manner and customs of the people are very like those of the people of New England, and you might pick out a set of Boston Selectmen from any of their churches."
RETURN OF A LOYALIST (1785)
Judge Curwen's introduction to the town was not wholly auspicious. He and a number of his compatriots "were attacked by the virulent tongue of a vixen, who saluted us by the names of 'damned American rebels', etc." But one had to live somewhere, and Bristol was less expensive than the metropolis. Later he tried Sidmouth and Exeter, and finally London again. Old friends and acquaintances began to die off : first Governor Bernard, then Governor Hutchin- son. Finally the end of the war came, and with it more or less assurance from prominent men in Salem that if Cur- wen should return, the chances were he would be un- molested.
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